Collapsible container



Oct. 30, 1956 M. SAMUEL coLLAPsIBLE CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb; 2, 1954 Inventor A Harney Gef. 30, 1.956 M. SAMUL 2,768,719

COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Inventor 154 '75o Mendel Samuel By d Attorney Oct. 30, 1956 Filed Feb. 2, 1954 M. SAMUEL COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Shee 5 Inventor Mendel Samuel A Harney United States COLLAI'SIBLE CONTAINER Mendel Samuel, Prestwich, Manchester, Lancashire, England, assignor to Philip Edward Morris, Bradford, England Application February 2, 1954, Serial No. 407,665! Claims priority, application Great Britain April 27, 1953 4 Claims. (Cl. 19d- 43) This invention relates to collapsible containers of the type comprising a blank adapted to be folded to form a tray or the like for the reception of articles to be packed therein, and is more particularly concerned with such containers which are intended for the protection of goods which are not readily damaged in transit.

For example, where articles of clothing, such as raincoats, mantles, dresses or the like, are packed for transit it is usual to use for example, paper parcels or cartons or containers which are readily formable from simple single blanks of cardboard or the like. Because they are not` of extremely rigid construction such containers do not provide the requis-ite protection for normal transit.

These containers suffer from a number of defects, the most important being that they become crushed in transit, and since they are formed from a single blank of flexible board, they wear readily along the folds and more particularly at the corners. Where these containers are returnable, they deteriorate rapidly and do not last any appreciable time.

An object of the present invention therefore is to provide a collapsible carton wherein the aforementioned disadvantages are avoided, which is extremely suitable for repeated use and which does not deteriorate with continued use, With the added advantage that when in the collapsed state, a minimum amount of space is required for the unused containers.

According to the present invention, there is provided a collapsible container comprising a blank adapted to be folded into a tray or the like for the reception of articles, or to form a lid for such a tray in which the blank consists of a plurality of stiff panels intended to form side walls, end walls and a base and/ or lid of the container said panels being connected to one another along their edges and the lines about which the blank is to be folded by means of strips of flexible material.

The stiff panels may preferably be of hardboard, vulcanised libre-bord, compressed cardboard, or the like of any desired practical thickness, whilst the flexible material may be of a woven nature, or it may be of plastic cloth or the like.

The collapsible container may be provided with flexible corner pieces sewn between adjacent edges of side and end walls of the blank, the said corner pieces being adapted, when the carton is erected and the aforesaid edges are disposed in abutting relationship, to be folded each against one side or end wall, and securing means at each corner for holding the walls in their vertical disposition which securing means consists of a strap or the like which is attached to one wall, is adapted to pass through the corner piece in the region of the adjacent wall or through the adjacent wall and to be secured to the rst mentioned wall.

The corner piece may conveniently be triangular in shape.

According to another feature of the present invention, the collapsible container does not have flexible corner pieces, but has sewn to each edge of each adjacent side Patented Oct. 3G, 1956 and end wall one half of a sliding clasp fastener, so that the edges may be secured in a substantially abutting relationship when the side and end walls are in their vertical positions, by closing the fasteners when the fasteners are opened, the carton can be collapsed.

The invention will be described further by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a container constructed in accordance with the present invention, Whilst,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of another preferred form of blank for a container according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of part of Fig. 3 showing the corner during the erection of the carton.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the corner shown in Fig.

4 but with the corner pieces secured after erection of the container, from within the container.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view corresponding to Fig. 5 but from outside thecontainer, and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of an alternative method of securing the corners, using a sliding clasp fastener.

Fig. 8 shows a container according to the present inventionmodified for use as a suitcase.

It is to be noted that with regard to the particular examples shown in Figs. 1 to 7, in each case the blank can be folded into the form of a shallow tray, and thus the resultant form can be utilised either as a container, or as a lid for a container, two blanks together forming a complete closed box.

The present invention, however, is not intended to be limited solely to the particular type of blank shown, and it is intended to cover any type of blank which may be folded to form a container.

Referring now to Fig. l, the blank shown comprises a base portion lill to which are attached pairs of side panels 1l, l2 and 13, i4 and pairs of end panels l5', 16 and 17, 18. The base and all the panels are of stiif construction, preferably of ibreboard.

A number of strips i9 to 26 of flexible material serve to form flexible fold lines of the container, and these are attached to the panels ll to 18 by stitching, as shown in the ligure by chain dotted lines. However, as alternatives, it is possible to attach the flexible strips by means of riveting, glueing or stapling. Similarly, it is possible where using stiff panels, for example, of synthetic resin, and flexible strips of a plastic cloth, to mould the one to the other.

Square corner pieces 27 to 30, again of flexible material, are attached to the side and end walls 11 to 18 of the container so that the whole blank, in the example shown, is substantially rectangular in shape.

In folding this blank, it is possible to obtain, as desired, either a small container having a wall height equivalent only to the widths of the side and end walls 1l, l, l5 and i7 or a larger container having a wall height equivalent to the combined widths of the side and end walls ll and l2; 13 and 14; l5 and 16; and 17 and 1S, as follows:

Small Containern-T he blank shown in Fig. l is folded along the flexible strips 20, 22 and 24 and 26 so that the side and end walls l2, M, lo and 1S lie llat on top of their respective adjacent panels l1, 13, 15 and 17. The blank will now have an appearance which largely resembles the blank shown in Fig. 2, since the corner pieces 27 to 3l) being of flexible material, will fold with the side panels. The reference to Fig. 2, however, is only by way of illustration, and the following description still refers to Fig. l.

The side and end Walls are now folded along the fold 3 lines provided by the flexible strips 19, 21, 23 and 25 until they are approximately perpendicular to the base of the container, thus forming the tray.

In this latter folding, each of the corner pieces 27 to 30 will have been folded to result in a triangular shaped element which can be readily attached to an inwardly directed face of an adjacent side or end wall of the tray. Such attachment can be effected by any convenient method, stapling or press-studding being quick and simple methods.

When the triangular corner pieces have been attached a container results which is quite suitable for packaging non-fragile articles.

The formation of a lid for the container may be effected from a similar blank by exactly the same operations. The resultant tray, however, is used in an inverted disposition, and may be slipped onto the container previously described, the whole forming a closed box.

Larger container.-To form the container of larger size from the blank shown in Fig. 1, it is merely necessary to fold the pairs of side and end walls 11 and 12; 13 and 14; 15 and 16; and 17 and 18 until they stand approximately perpendicularly to the base 10. Each of the corner pieces 27 to 30 again assumes a triangular shape and is attached to an inwardly directed face of an adjacent end or side wall of the container to complete same.

As before, the container may be completed by the provision of a lid.

Referring now to Fig. 2 the example here illustrated is capable of being folded only into one size of container. The blank comprises a base or lid panel 40 constructed of a relatively stiff material Such as fibreboard to which are joined two side panels 41 and 42 and two end panels 43 and 44.

As in the previous example, the joint between the base panel 40 and the side and end panels 41 to 44 is made by means of strips 45, 46, 47 and 40 which are sewn as shown by chain dotted lines in the figure. Square corner-pieces S1 to 54, again of flexible material, complete the blank.

The formation of a container from this blank will be evident from the foregoing description with reference to Fig. 1. The side walls 41 and 42 and the end walls 43 and 44 are folded about the flexible strips 45 to 48 until they are all approximately pelpendicular to the base 40. During this folding the corner-pieces 51 to 54 become folded diagonally as indicated by the dotted lines 49 and form a triangular projection into the tray. These projections are each fastened to an adjacent side or end wall of the container to complete same.

It is to be noted that a lid prepared from a blank as illustrated in Fig. 2 is eminently suitable for use upon a container made from a similar blank or upon a container made, for example, from the blank shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the blank illustrated consists of a base or lid panel 100 to which are attached side wall 101, 102 and end walls 103 and 104. These panels are all of a relative stili. or inflexible material such as highly compressed fibreboard, and are connected together along their adjacent edges by strips of flexible material such as canvas of which two only (106 and 107) are shown. These strips are attached to the panels by stitching.

At each corner, adjacent side and end panels are connected by triangular corner pieces 10S, 109 and 110 and 111 (of which one only is shown in detail) these, too, consisting of tiexible material such as canvas and being sewn to the side and end walls by reinforcing strips 112, 113. The outer edge of each corner piece is bound as at 114.

Pairs of securing straps 115, 116 and 117, 118 are provided on each end wall 103, 104 respectively, and these serve to secure the walls 101, 102, 103 and 104, in their vertical positions when the container is erected.

The straps are each sewn at one end to an outer surface of its respective end walls, as shown in detail in Fig. 6 and each corner piece 108, 109 and 110 and 111, has an elongated eyelet 119 through which the corresponding strap may pass to within the container. In the case of the corner piece 108, the eyelet 119 is arranged as close as possible to the adjacent edge of the side wall 102, so that when the strap is passed through the eyelet, it will pull the adjacent edges of the side wall 102 and the end wall 103 into a close proximity to one another. A buckle is provided for each strap.

The method of forming a container or a lid for a container is shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The side and end walls 101, 102, 103 and 104 are brought into positions perpendicular to the base or lid panel 100. During this operation the corner pieces 108, 109 and 110 and 111 are folded symmetrically to within the tray so formed.

The straps 11S-113 are then passed through their respective eyelets 119 and secured tightly into their respective buckles 120. It is to be noted that the buckles 120 are so disposed that the straps lie against the respective corner pieces and hold them tightly against the end walls of the container, as shown in Fig. 5.

The tray so formed can form either the base or the lid of a container, two such trays together forming a single container. In practice it is found that the exibility of the strips joining the side and end walls to the base or lid portions permits two trays formed from blanks of equal size to co-operate very eticiently to form a closed container.

Referring now to Fig. 7 the blank of which part only is illustrated, is very similar to that previously described with the exception that no corner pieces are provided. In this instance the two adjacent edges of side wall and end wall 151 of the blank are reinforced and each has one half 152, 153 of a sliding clasp fastener 154 sewn thereto, and each corner is similarly provided.

To form a container from this blank, the side and end walls are brought to positions perpendicular to the base or lid portion of the blank and the sliding claps fastener is closed, so securing same.

Apart from the packaging of articles for transit, as previously described, containers according to the present invention are partciularly suitable for domestic suit and like cases, a single case being formed from two similar blanks 200, 201 as shown in Fig. 8. The blank 200 forms the tray of the container and the blank 201 forms the lid. Two girth straps 202 are disposed around these two parts and pass through slots 203 of a leather or like handle 204, to form a case which may readily be folded into a very small space when not required for use. T he appearance of the case may be improved somewhat by binding the otherwise free edge of the lid part 201 as illustrated at 205, with canvas or the like.

I claim:

l. A collapsible container comprising a blank adapted to be folded into a tray for the reception of articles, in which the blank consists of a stiff rectangular base panel of compressed breboard, two rectangular sidewall panels of similar material disposed adjacent opposite longitudinal edges of said base, two rectangular end wall panels, also of similar material disposed adjacent opposite transverse edges of said base, strips of canvas along lines about which the blank is to be folded to which canvas said base, side and end wall panels, are sewn, flexible corner pie-ces attached to adjacent edges of said side and end wall panels, the said corner pieces being adapted, when the container is erected and the said adjacent edges are abutting one another, to be folded each against one wall, and securing means at each said corner piece for holding the said walls in their vertical disposition.

2. A collapsible container as set for-th in claim l in which each said securing means comprises a strap which is attached to one wall, is adapted to pass through said corner piece in the region of the adjacent wall and to be secured to the first mentioned wall.

3. A collapsible container as set forth in claim 1 in which each said securing means comprises a strap which is attached to one wall, is adapted to pass through between said wall and said adjacent wall, further adapted to pass through said corner pieces and to be secured to the first mentioned wall.

4. A collapsible container adapted to be formed into a suitcase comprising a blank adapted to be folded into a tray for the reception of articles, in which the blank consists of a stitf rectangular base panel of compressed fibreboard, two rectangular side wall panels of similar material disposed adjacent opposite longitudinal edges of said base, two rectangular end wall panels, also of similar material disposed adjacent opposite transverse edges of said base, strips of canvas along lines about which the blank is to be folded to which canvas said base, side and end wall panels are sewn, flexible corner pieces attached to adjacent edges of said side and end wall panels, the said corner pieces being adapted, when the container is erected and the said adjacent edges are abutting one another, to be folded each against one wall, and securing means at each said corner piece for holding the said walls in their Vertical disposition, in combination with a second blank adapted to be folded into a lid for covering said tray in which said second blank consists of a stiff rectangular top panel of compressed ibreboard, two rectangular sidewall panels of similar material disposed adjacent opposite longitudinal edges of said top panel, two rectangular end wall panels, also of similar material disposed adjacent opposite transverse edges of said top panel, strips of canvas along the lines about which the blank is to be folded, to which canvas said top, side and end wall panels are sewn, flexible corner pieces attached to adjacent edges of said side and end wall panels, the said corner pieces being adapted, when the container is erected and the said adjacent edges are abutting one another, to be folded each against one wall, and securing means at each said corner piece for holding the said walls in their vertical disposition, and means, in the form of two ginth straps and a detachable handle, being provided so that when erected the container may be formed into the suitcase.

OBrien Aug. 18, 1903 Jensen Aug. 23, 1910 

